By George Mponda

Karonga, February 28, Mana: Residents of Karonga have expressed concern over unbecoming behaviour by some youths in the district, who are forming gangs posing a threat to security.

Secretary for the Peace and Unity Committee for Karonga, Aaron Mwenelupembe, was speaking Friday during an engagement with local leaders on peace building organised by the Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM).

"The gangs, mostly comprising young people are very common at Songwe Border where they are involved in human trafficking business. Rival gangs have been witnessed fighting each other, some are terrorizing residents, especially at night," said Mwenelupembe.

This has sparked concerns not just among residents but also among business owners and law enforcement agents.

Paramount Chief Kyungu of Karonga and Chitipa bemoaned the tendency saying steps must be taken to eliminate the gangs before things go out of hand.

"Karonga is too small to be having gangsters around terrorizing residents. We are not New York, London, Moscow, Beijing or even Tokyo so, why should we allow gangster-ism in our district? Young people should know that there is a way of doing business legally not engaging in these gangs.

“This tendency brings lawlessness, destabilizes peace and, therefore, we need to work together to make sure there is peace and unity in our district," said Kyungu.

EAM Advocacy Officer for Karonga, Fumbanani Mwale, said collaboration is key to ending various violent acts and disputes which are happening in Karonga.

"We need to come together so that we can address these issues and chiefs have a big role to play because they are the gatekeepers and they can help increase awareness on the dangers of conflicts," Mwale said.

Officer-in-Charge for Karonga Police Station, Kelvin Mulezo, said they are working hard to address the problem.